What to do? Xu Shu was immediately left with no confidence by Li Yifei’s words, even his inner thoughts began to waver, and his face showed some gloom. He murmured, "What can I do?"Of course, follow me! Li Yifei thought in his heart, glancing at the two people opposite. Silence fell in the room, as Xu Shu’s thoughts grew grayer, and Yang Shuo was left speechless. She had heard of the Li family’s composition, and now facing the Li Family Head, Yang Shuo felt both ashamed and desperate.
"Have you been cultivating for fourteen years?" Li Yifei asked. Xu Shu instinctively nodded, hesitating for a moment before saying, "Yes, fourteen years."
"That is not easy either," Li Yifei said.
Xu Shu’s eyelids twitched, unsure of how to respond.
Li Yifei chuckled and said, "Cultivation is not easy, and achieving your level of skill is even harder!"
What do you mean? Wasn’t the belittlement enough earlier? Xu Shu felt a bit annoyed and was about to speak when he heard Li Yifei say, "I’ll show you a way!"
Yang Shuo and Xu Shu immediately looked up, focusing their attention on Li Yifei.
Li Yifei took out a cigarette, lit it, and took a slow drag before saying, "Follow me from now on, and today’s incident can be overlooked."
"Ah?" Xu Shu and Yang Shuo seemed not to understand, simultaneously uttering a sound of surprise, their eyes wide and a bit dazed.
The two of them were helpless, their brows furrowed, fearing that Li Yifei might suddenly explode and cause trouble, especially Yang Shuo. She had heard some of Li Yifei’s exploits and knew that his years in Mile City were marked by impressive achievements. However, she didn’t expect to hear such news from Li Yifei’s mouth—she couldn’t react immediately.
Xu Shu confirmed he hadn’t misheard. Given his cultivation level, he couldn’t possibly be hallucinating. So, Li Yifei was indeed saying he should follow him. This very guild-like phrase made Xu Shu’s heart skip a few beats. He bit his lip and said, "Mr. Li, are you joking?"
"Do I have free time to joke with you?" Li Yifei set down the apple he was tossing, looked at his opponent, and said, "Besides your cultivation, you have no other skills. You can’t go into business, nor can you negotiate. The little money you’d earn moving bricks at a construction site isn’t enough to pay your debts, so besides following me, do you have any other way to pay back the over ninety million?"
"Even following you won’t pay it back..." Xu Shu wanted to say, when Yang Shuo beside him squeezed his hand. This clever woman had already understood Li Yifei’s meaning, and with some delight, she said, "Mr. Li, are you serious?"
"Do I seem like I’m joking with you? Of course, misappropriating public funds not only violates the law but also severely hurts both me and Xu Yingying, betraying the trust we placed in you."
"Yes..." Yang Shuo and Xu Shu nodded unconsciously, both shocked by Li Yifei’s sudden change, unsure what to do next. Xu Shu finally realized that Li Yifei was giving him a way out, not intending to punish him harshly today, and thus hope rose in his eyes.
"You’ve given me a dilemma. In the past, for someone like you, regardless of past relationships, I would have punished you severely for such a matter. But now, I’m indeed hesitating, partly because of you, Yang Shuo. If I let you off this time, how will you convince us to trust you in the future? You don’t need to explain this to me, talk it over with Xu Yingying. Furthermore, you have your own family now, a husband and children, but you’re entangled with another man, committing adultery in wedlock. That’s a pretty bad word." Li Yifei’s speech was slow-paced, and the more he spoke, the paler Yang Shuo’s face became. How could she not be aware of these things? She’s been tormented for years, torn between guilt and the fear of her family finding out, which would escalate matters. Yet, she was infatuated with Xu Shu.
With Li Yifei uttering these words now, the thin veil between Yang Shuo and Xu Shu was pierced—an issue the two did their best to avoid contemplating—so it struck them like a bolt of lightning.
"Therefore, if you wish to continue working and stay together with him, quickly resolve your family matters. You absolutely cannot bring further disgrace to the Li family, Yang Shuo. Can you do that?"
Yang Shuo understood Li Yifei’s meaning: he’s urging her to resolve the problem swiftly, implying... either divorce or separate from Xu Shu. Given the choice, Yang Shuo felt torn. After a brief pause, she looked up at Li Yifei, nodded resolutely, and said, "Mr. Li, I will address this issue."
"Don’t speak too soon, resolve it first," Li Yifei pointed a finger at her.
Turning to Xu Shu, Li Yifei continued, "And you, have you thought it through?"
"Me?"
"You have some skills; I’m not belittling you for that. However, these skills are not highly useful in today’s society. Out of talent-love, I can’t bear to see a promising seedling die!" Li Yifei’s tone shifted as he spoke. "Letting you follow me is also to see if you have potential to go further!"
"Of course I can advance further. My master predicted long ago that I am very gifted in formation methods, with high attainments. It’s just..." Xu Shu paused, lacking confidence, "My cultivation consumes a lot of jade stones. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have let Yang Shuo resort to such methods. Of course, I know it was certainly the wrong way..."
"You rely entirely on jade stones for cultivation?"
"Jade stones are the primary need. My cultivation method is unusual, and while formation methods can use various things, purer objects produce better results, so jade stone consumption is high. Other materials are needed too, but none as much as jade stones, and I don’t yet use higher-level items."
Li Yifei nodded slightly, pondered for a while, and said, "If I provide you with enough jade stones, what will you bring me?"
Xu Shu’s heart shook; he hadn’t expected today’s situation to unfold like this. The fearsome Li Family Head sitting across from him was actually trying to recruit him... This was a thousand times better than being cleaned up or even killed by the opponent, so Xu Shu was immediately tempted. His cultivation demanded jade stones, and in today’s world, without money, there was nothing. He wasn’t sure how to earn money either. If he followed Li Yifei, the richest person in the province, would he then have money? Thinking this, he clenched his fist, looked at Li Yifei, and with a glimpse of hope asked, "Mr. Li, do you mean that if I follow you, you will guarantee everything I need for my future cultivation?"
"Jade stones," Li Yifei corrected.
Xu Shu immediately became excited, glancing at the equally excited Yang Shuo, and said, "Alright, then I’ll follow you! As long as I have a guaranteed supply of jade stones, everything else is negotiable!"
Li Yifei chuckled, looking at him and saying, "Did you forget what I just said? You need to prove yourself. Nine million, and the money after that, hmm, it will definitely be much more than nine million, enough to buy an airplane, and you... you need to prove you’re worth more than a plane. Otherwise, why should I tolerate your mistake this time, and even put in more money!"
"Yes, yes!" Xu Shu said excitedly. Resolving this matter with such ease was already the best outcome, how could Xu Shu not be overjoyed? He was eager to clap his hands and said, "I will prove myself. In fact, after this period of cultivation, I have reached a bottleneck. If I can break through, I can quickly advance..."
"Don’t say that yet; first, prove yourself!" Li Yifei interrupted the excited Xu Shu, pointing at him and said, "The two formations alone only prove you can set up formations, but that’s not enough."
"Not enough?" Xu Shu’s smile froze, contemplating. It’s not that he lacks confidence in his expertise in formation methods, it’s that... Li Yifei is too powerful. When he arrived, those few moves left Xu Shu overwhelmed, erasing his arrogance. Now being asked by Li Yifei to show his true strength, Xu Shu was at a loss as to what to do.
"What’s the matter? Is that all?" Li Yifei asked.
Xu Shu took a deep breath and said, "No, of course, there’s more, but here... it’s not convenient to set up. The previous two formations, the first was like an illusion to avoid disturbance, and the second was a precaution against anyone coming..."
"No need to explain. If you can’t set it up here, there’s always somewhere else you can. I’ll come with you to experience it," Li Yifei said, standing. He was genuinely interested because the guy before him knew formation methods and had studied them formally. Unlike Li Yifei, who had only received some guidance from Murong Yuanqing, Elder Su, and others, while this guidance was beneficial, it’s always good to know more skills. There’s no harm in learning more!
With this thought in mind, Li Yifei graciously let Xu Shu and Yang Shuo off the hook. Cultivators are rare, but if you sincerely search, they can be found, while people specializing in formation methods are even harder to come by, at least Li Yifei hadn’t encountered one before.
As for Xu Shu, he felt a bit nervous. He had to set up a formation that Li Yifei would find meaningful, something that would impress him and demonstrate his worth.
Thinking of this, Xu Shu quietly clenched his fist, encouraging himself.
Li Yifei pointed at Yang Shuo and said, "You find a piece of open ground and let him prove himself."
"Ah? Okay, okay, Mr. Li... I know a place, not far from here. It’s farmland, and at this time of year, hasn’t begun planting, so such a place is okay?"
"Ask him," Li Yifei said.
Xu Shu nodded and said, "It’s suitable, very suitable!"
"Then let’s go there!" Li Yifei said. Xu Shu collected the remaining jade stones and other formation materials from his home, preparing to set up a formation to amaze Li Yifei, who also felt a bit of anticipation. If Xu Shu proved to be truly valuable, it would be a gain for the Li family.